


When I Go

by Magical_Mischief_Mon



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And angsty, And can you blame any of them?, Back to Earth, Everyone Needs A Hug, For the first time, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith is a sad boy, Kinda, Lance appears, Lance is surprisingly prepared, Verry very hidden Coran/Lance friendship, and cares, but not in the expected way, dead Lance, klangst, made up Altean tech, not even mentioned, really only exists if you want Klance, slight reference to Galra!Keith, very very dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 08:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14101317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Mischief_Mon/pseuds/Magical_Mischief_Mon
Summary: Alteans had their own way of recording their wills and last wishes. They had orbs that would record their wish and could only be opened by those they chose as their family. These were often called "message balls."





	When I Go

**Author's Note:**

> This was in my folder for awhile, while I tried to figure out how to improve this. But I've given up.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

This was it. He just had to knock on the door. He imagined a woman in the kitchen making dinner, children running around the house, and a man who would be coming soon from work. Cousins visiting, brothers and sisters, all older. It just took one knock.  
He couldn’t do this.  
He couldn’t face them.  
A hand on his shoulder and there was his friends behind him to give him strength. He gulps and knocks. He hears footsteps and from a look to his side, he sees faces in the windows. He runs his hand through his short hair as voices call out and finally -- _finally_ \-- the handle turns.  
“Hello?” An older woman asks, looking up at him. And it was then he could see familiar features in her face, her hair, her eyes. It made him want to cry.  
“Mrs. McClain? I am Keith Kogane. My friends and I have news about your son, Lance.” He told her. She looked worried, but hopeful. It was crushing him on the inside, but he kept up the appearance of a paladin and followed her inside. Teenagers and younger children scrambled out of the room as she shooed them away, conspicuously hiding nearby.  
“Are you with the Garrison? Have you found him?” Mrs. McClain questioned them after the four had sat down.  
“We were labeled as missing?” Hunk blurted out. She focused on him and he noticed his mistake. “Sorry. I am Hunk Garrett, I was a cadet with Lance and his roommate at the Garrison.”  
“I am Takashi Shirogane. And no, we are not from the Garrison.” Keith held the bag in his hands tightly, as he listened. “But we knew your son well. I’m not sure how to say this...”  
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” She interrupted, surprising all with her certainty.  
Everyone turned to Pidge. She was the one who had been there when he died. The only one of them to have heard his last words. The only one able to explain what happened. The guilt ate Keith inside that he wasn’t.  
“It’s more than that.” Keith watched as she gripped Shiro’s hand, drawing strength from him as Keith had done at the door. “Lance wanted to contact you, to see you, ever since we left. But he couldn’t. At first it was because none of us knew how and by the time we realized we could, it was too dangerous.”  
“Was he involved in drugs or something? What happened?”  
“Have you heard of the Kerberos mission?”  
“What does that have to do with anything?”  
“Have you heard of the Kerberos mission?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. That might make things easier, but no less unbelievable for your kind.” Keith was nodding along, but then he saw Shiro wince. Ah. Right. They were all human. Not an alien species. He had forgotten. “Shiro, here, had been kidnapped by aliens. As well as the other people on the mission.”  
“What? Is this some kind of joke?”  
“No. It’s not. My brother and father were on that mission as well and it’s still believed even now that they’re dead. It would seem I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Katie Holt. However, you might know me better from Lance’s letters home as Pidge Gunderson.”  
“But Pidge was-”  
“A disguise I used.”  
“Pidge...”  
“No. It’s true, Hunk. I infiltrated the Garrison to find out the truth about the Kerberos mission and since I had already been banned, I disguised myself as Pidge Gunderson. I didn’t really know your son since we left Earth.”  
“Left Earth? What are you talking about? How could you leave Earth and-”  
“Mrs. McClain,” Keith interrupted, “please. Let Pidge tell the story. She- She knows most of the facts and-”  
His throat constricts.  
“Breath, Keith.” Shiro’s husky voice soothes and calm his attack.  
“Ignore them. Anyways, the five of us, including Lance, ended up on a surprise trip to space. We got roped into being some of the most influential beings-”  
“-chosen, Pidge, we were chosen-”  
“- in space. We were to fight for peace. We all had our separate goals in the beginning, Lance wanted to go back home to his family. To you. I wanted to find my dad and brother. But we all came together in the end, so it doesn’t really matter, I guess. You see, the aliens that kidnapped Shiro and my family are these people called the Galra. They had this huge empire crossing over galaxies and were coming closer to Earth. It took years to do it, but we beat them. Yay us!”  
“Pidge.”  
“Right. Sorry. We wanted to return to Earth as soon as possible, but we couldn’t. See, we just took down the empire and Allura had been crowned Queen, and so many species tried to fill the gap the Galra left and we had to deal with them. Not to mention the attempts. Assassination attempts, I mean. And before we knew it, it had been fifteen years since we left and we all saw it as too dangerous as to endanger our families as well, no matter how much we wanted to see them and-”  
“- Pidge. Your rambling again.”  
“I’m sorry, Ma- Mrs. McClain. You deserve to know what happened, but there’s things you need to be told first and I- I’m probably the worst one to do it. Lance was always the best story teller. He didn’t ramble like I do unless his flirting failed.”  
“Mrs. McClain, Lance cared about all of you deeply and he didn’t want to see any of you in danger. Even if it meant never seeing or messaging you again.” Shiro simplified for her.  
“Exactly.”  
“You said it took fifteen years by the time everything calmed down,” four heads nodded, “what about the last five?”  
“There was a lull for a year.” Keith answered. “And we agreed that if it went on for a couple more, then we could consider returning. But it didn’t. And- I’m sorry. I don’t know the details.”  
“Of Lance’s,” Pidge paused. A pause not one of them could fill, “he means. I do, however. I was the only other one there. It was an ambush. We were on a mission, going over a planet we weren’t sure about. We were outnumbered and- we did what we could. It was only after we ki- dealt with the ambushers, that either of us even noticed how badly he was injured. He died of his wounds soon after, before help could arrive.”  
“He left behind a message, though. It can only be opened by his family.” Shiro stated. “Keith. The bag.”  
Hands shaking, Keith reluctantly gave Mrs. McClain the bag. “It contains the message ball, you press the large, round indent, and it plays the message, it’ll play as many times as you want. The other thing in there are some of what he brought from Earth. Not his clothes, but some of the things he treasured that he managed to keep. Please take care of them.”  
He saw himself in her eyes, eyes so blue, and realized he must look absolutely pitiful. He’s certain it’s obvious his feelings. She must be repulsed.  
“Keith. Purple’s showing.” Shiro whispered to him. Keith willed it to disappear. That would have been even worse. “Thank you for your time. I wish we could have come at a better time and while he was alive.”  
“I wish you had too.”  
“Please take care.” Keith said before being ushered along, out the door. He could feel the eyes of the teens and children on his back as he left. The unspoken accusations searing his mind. They were almost to their pod when one of the older teens ran after them, calling them. The four turned around to hear her request for them to come back. Lance’s father had returned and his mother had tried to open the ball, but nothing happened, she explained.  
When they returned, Keith could swear there was suddenly more people. And indeed there were. The ages ranged from six to sixty, and there were quite a few of them. Mrs. McClain handed the message ball to Shiro, who in turn handed it to Keith. Keith stared at tired, grey eyes, confirming he indeed meant to hand it to him.  
Keith pushed his thumb into the indent and watched as the lines glowed blue, true to the Altean pattern, and a life size Lance appeared in full color. Keith broke down then and there, no longer able to hold it back as this hologram relayed a message to each of the Paladins, Allura, Coran, and others they had met on their travels. Towards the end was a message to his family on Earth that made them cry as well.  
Keith tried to offer the ball back to Mrs. McClain, but she refused it. She thanked him -- thanked all of them -- for telling her about Lance and letting her see him one last time. He regretted he couldn’t do more for them.  
Later that night, alone in his room, Keith played the message again. Just to hear Lance’s voice again. Just to see him again.  
“Keith,” he frowned. That wasn’t what the message had started with earlier, “I’m sorry.” _No_. “Coran taught me this thing about selective message, so I made one for you when you’re alone.” _No, he couldn’t have-_ “I’m sorry I left before you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I had a bad feeling. I know we made a promise together.” A laugh from the hologram. His laugh. His short laugh when he remembered something painful and didn’t know how to handle it. “Many, many promises. And I’m sorry I was too weak to fulfill them.” _You weren’t, I was_ , Keith wants to say.  
“I hope you get to return to Earth one day. Even if it’s without me.” He had. “I hope you find love again.” Never again. “And I hope you continue to live.” Keith wasn’t sure he could do that.  
“Promise me. Promise me you’ll live on. Promise me you’ll live for yourself. Enjoy life’s pleasures without me.” He refused. “Promise me you’ll talk to the others.” He couldn’t. “If one of them was there when you weren’t when I died, please talk to them. They need you as much as you need them.” Keith refused to admit he had been avoiding Pidge and how it added to the pain.  
Lance’s smile faltered and his voice wavered. “This isn’t fair of me. I know that it isn’t. But still, please promise you’ll remember me. Even when you’ve moved on, please remember me.”  
That. That he could do. He had no doubt. “I promise.” He agreed. He watched as the hologram of Lance began crying. He moved to wipe away tears. His hand fell through air and the hologram disappeared, leaving Keith alone.  
Alone with the ball. He lied down on his bed and pressed the indent once more, replaying the message.


End file.
